September 28, 2004 -- KBA North America, a leading sheetfed offset press manufacturer based in Williston, VT, will be displaying the most progressive and highly-technological printing innovations to the North American market at Graph Expo 2004 in Chicago in early October. Central to the firm’s innovations are its new version of its popular Rapida 105 41-inch sheetfed press.After a strong introduction at Drupa amid much praise for the new design, KBA North America is eagerly anticipating the debut of its new ergonomically sophisticated press to the North American paper, board, and plastic market.The press at the show will be a six-color configuration with aqueous coating system. Rapida 105 increases productivity and speed Taking the proven successful design of the Rapida 105, engineers at KBA have expanded its capabilities to include a faster running speed of an astounding 18,000 sph, well above any of its competitors, new and significantly improved engineering components, control functions and operating features. These innovations help KBA printers to increase productivity by over 20% due to faster running speeds and shorter make-ready times, differentiate themselves from their competition, boost their productivity, and successfully move into new markets. New enhancements on the Rapida 105 include: - A new extended functionality to control sheet in feed at the control console - A motor-driven shaftless feeder - An optional side lay-free infeed - Print stock from 60 lb paper to 48 pt. board - Other innovative options include the new cutting-edge Qualitronic II inline sheet inspection system; video register, Densitronic closed loop color control, and ink-temperature control for optimum print quality Revolutionary small-format UV press Another new innovation for the printing industry and direct from Drupa as well is the KBA Genius 52 UV press.This new model features UV inline drying, is able to print on stock up to 32 pt., and has make-ready times that can be less than half of other presses.The Genius 52 UV is an offset printing press operating with an anilox short inking unit. It utilizes its waterless-offset function on synthetic materials such as PVC, PC and ABS. It can be used for printing credit cards, loyalty cards, mouse pads, informational garden spikes, 3-D pictures on lenticular lenses, etc. The press prints a standard 20” format and operates up to 8,000 sheets/hour. The press also features an automatic plate changing device that guarantees short set-up times, reliable reproducibility, and brilliant offset quality. Differentiate with brand-new fast-growing RFID technology In its own standalone display within the KBA booth will be the fast-growing much-heralded RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. The display will show printers the vast potential of products to be printed inline with new conductive inks. Innovation of its own: Qualitronic II The new version of the Rapida 105 41-inch sheetfed press will also feature a new innovative solution to waste and throughput. Launched at Drupa 2004, the new Qualitronic II inline sheet inspection system cuts waste and flags imperfect sheets. The system utilizes a color camera that is mounted near the delivery area and aimed at the impression cylinder through a narrow slit in the floor plate. During the press run, each printed sheet is scanned at ultra-high resolution. Within this ultra-high resolution, the system can detect even the slightest color deviation, distinguishing over 16 million colors. In addition to segregating imperfect sheets from the run, the Qualitronic II system reduces waste by warning the operator of deviations in the press run, such as fading colors due to lack of ink. The operator is able to react before large quantities of waste sheets accumulate unnecessary costs. To link the new Rapida 105 via JDF or CIP4 or directly to a printer’s management software and company servers, KBA’s Logotronic Professional production management system incorporates JDF workflow for prepress and post-press areas. The KBA booth will also display over 25 different press sheet examples from KBA’s other innovative press lines, including the extra-large format Rapida 205 81-inch sheetfed press, the largest sheetfed offset press in the world, as well as jobs printed on plastic from KBA’s 74 Karat digital offset press. “We are quite excited to bring to North America all the new technology from Drupa, our entire range of technologically-innovative press products are the new standard in printing press technology,” says Ralf Sammeck, KBA North America’s President and CEO. “Our primary goal is to help our customers differentiate themselves in this competitive market and we feel that our innovative products help them to succeed and stay ahead of their competition.” KBA North America is a leading supplier of sheetfed offset and digital presses located in Williston, VT. It is a member of the KBA Group, a leader in the manufacture of sheetfed offset, digital offset, web offset, rotogravure directory, security, and newspaper presses.